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I mean, it sounds like we need to just do an extracurricular stream of Heavenly Creatures so more people can see it.
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Aug 20, 2020 18:34
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I know that Heavenly Creatures scared/disturbed the gently caress out of me when I first saw it at age 10 or so. Genre doesn't really mean anything as broadly as it's been constituted for this game and Heavenly Creatures is certainly as horrific as like, Memories of Murder or something.
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Aug 20, 2020 18:44
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 Impromptu Heavenly Creatures Stream, tonight on the CineD Discord 2100 EST Maybe it'll be horror, maybe it won't 
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Aug 20, 2020 18:50
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How are these video streams hosted/shared?
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Aug 20, 2020 18:52
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They're done on the CineD Discord. I basically share VLC through the Voice Channels section, then we chat in the "horror-director-tournament" room. https://discord.gg/swHPvuC
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Aug 20, 2020 19:14
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Holy poo poo, Argento, Bava, and Dante gone. What a blood bath. Weird round. I haven't seen any of them except Imprint, Dawn of the Dead, and Frankenstein (the latter two which I've watched recently and might skip if I don't have time) and none are really on my watch list besides Parasite, which I understand isn't horror. Its a very "movie club" expanding my horizons week. Could be fun. Also I vote yes for both Jackson films. It seems silly to me at this stage to quibble over whether a film is horror or not. There's been so many films we've seen that pushed that past its limit so while I don't think we should just add any film if someone things a movie has horror elements I say add it so we have more films. Kong Yes Heavenly Creatures Yes Debbie Does Dagon posted:I don't really want to cause a big derail, and I honestly don't mind looking silly to most of you. It's just something that I personally care strongly about, and perhaps isn't even something I could defend in a "facts not feelings" way. It's just the way I feel. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Aug 20, 2020 |
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Aug 20, 2020 20:26
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STAC Goat posted:Holy poo poo, Argento, Bava, and Dante gone. What a blood bath. Horror Director Bracketology: Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?
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Aug 20, 2020 21:06
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:
I salute you and apologise for ever complaining that I live in the UK so my late nights prevent me from tuning in often.
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Aug 20, 2020 21:27
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STAC Goat posted:I'm very sorry. I was just joking around and in no way think you look silly. If anything I find your stance noble and it makes me feel bad that I don't notice or care more. I certainly would if it was something bigger like a dog being tortured or something, but its weird that I don't notice or feel the same for an octopus or crane. That's on me and you're opening my eyes to it. The last thing I want to do is make you or anyone else feel bad  this community, and in particular these challenge threads, are the reason I survived lockdown. So I'm very literally in your debt. BisonDollah posted:I salute you and apologise for ever complaining that I live in the UK so my late nights prevent me from tuning in often. Everytime I see your av I feel searing pangs of guilt. I live in the UK too, and I wish I could make the times work out, but it's even harder now that I'm back doing nights and evenings at work. On Sunday there will be UK accessible stuff though!
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Aug 20, 2020 22:50
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Aug 21, 2020 00:15
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Debbie Does Dagon posted:The last thing I want to do is make you or anyone else feel bad STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Aug 21, 2020 |
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Aug 21, 2020 00:19
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As long as we're both on the same page about Hank being the cooler brother. No one wants a Dean in the Box. STAC Goat posted:You. You and Shreknet are the co-MVPs of this and gave us so much during this. I am just the wordy fool who was totally, completely wrong about this tournament and caused Jason to beat the Universals. I also nominated some bum posers who got knocked out first round and cried about Last House on the Left. I'm just grateful you all haven't run me out for my numerous sins. I always think of you as the real MVP. Between here and Letterboxd your writing output is incredible, and always high effort. Without you I think this thread would be as quiet as a tomb.
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Aug 21, 2020 00:56
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What to say, what to do, what to say Well first and foremost I suppose we should get this out of the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Two-7PAXPP8 This is the trailer for the American adaptation of Half Human. It is awful, for the record, as these things tended to be. Wildly misses the point of the film and what the actual story was about. Don't they always? Speaking of, here is the movie in question. https://archive.org/details/HalfHuman_20170325/Half+Human.mkv Now you might be wondering, why is it here? Why isn't it streaming anywhere? Well, that's easy enough. This isn't officially recognized by Toho. Facing critical backlash over how they portrayed indigenous natives they decided to bury the film and no longer acknowledge it. This copy is the best we have, released by accident at some point ages ago with a time code that has been mercifully removed by the uploader. So this is a rare one here. Is it good? I think so. The Yeti costume is quite good for its time, the story is, for the era it was made, remarkably forward thinking and nuanced compared to its American contemporaries. An easy comparison to make would be The Creature from the Black Lagoon, but the Creature there gave about as good as he got- even in Revenge, he was kind of an rear end in a top hat. The Yeti here is unambiguously good, and a better person than over half the cast. Maybe most of the cast. Instead the villains of the piece are not the monsters, but the poachers and hunters who seek to profit, as well as the close minded natives who run counter to what the Yeti himself wants. Not all of them, I will note- I do think some of the backlash is a bit undeserved, as the leading lady of the village is strong willed and moral, if not overly trusting at times. It is an early, early stab at a more nuanced monster film, presenting the Yeti as a victim in all things and morally superior to the so called humans he must contend with. The cast is generally quite strong and the mystery of the film, which is obvious, does have some surprising twists related to the morality of the Yeti and how truly good he is. Most of the cast are fresh from Godzilla 1954 so there's a lot of familiar faces. The cinematography is quite nice when they're allowed to flex their muscles, showing off the snowy mountain side extremely well. On the whole, for the time it was made, it is quite a decent creature feature that tries to be about more than a scary monster in the snow like so many of its contemporaries. The elephant in the room is that it is not going up against one of its contemporaries. It's not going up against another creature feature. It's not even being compared to something made in the same century as itself. Some could argue that it's not even going against a horror film, though I personally couldn't agree with that. It's going against the 2019 Best Picture Award Winning 'Parasite', by ever growing South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. On this level, how do you compare these two films? Sixty four years of advancement and improvement to the genre have followed since both hit the screens, and the very reactions to these films were immediately polarizing. One was decried and effectively banished, could only find a footing in America by being butchered and have John Carradine slapped onto the beginning and end. The other was granted every prestige it could have built on a backlog of good will and great promise, arriving unmolested with a timely, darkly comical tone about class divide and struggles. To say that Parasite is the better film is to propose that cyanide should, perhaps, be avoided. Such a thing is self evident. But better at what? Being a movie, in and of itself. It has won its awards, while Half Human barely even exists in any form and cannot be gotten legally anymore. In a strange twist of fate, Parasite finds itself as the elite, the high class snobs who sneer at the misfortunate and less well to dos. This places Half Human in the role of the underclass...and much like in Parasite itself, it is not simply as easy as that. If it was I could argue a David VS Goliath style redemption. But the film is not perfect, arguably one of the weaker in Honda's list. What it is, is unique. I invite everyone to watch Half Human and see the truth for what it is- Honda never had the chance that Bong did and does. Ishiro Honda made the movies he was given and he made them well. His best haven't even come yet, and you can make a strong argument between Godzilla and Matango for which that even is, but he is a man who had the talent of Akira Kurosawa, but not the fortune or presence. He never regretted his path and his films are beloved by those who embraced them, but he was stomped beneath the feet of more important, more notable directors. Both at the time, with Kurosawa and Hitchcock towering over any and all efforts he could muster, and even to this day as new directors take the helm of his properties and excel with them, and Asian directors gain fame and acclaim that he was denied for most of his entire life. The people that knew him, knew what a talent he was- Kurosawa himself valued Honda as a close friend and peer, and had him ghost direct his last few movies for him due to his increasing blindness. The final film Kurosawa made was also the final film Honda made, Honda directing for his long time friend- before passing away later that same year. Some have taken notice, but the vast majority have not and will not. We know how good Bong Joon-ho is. I've been aware of his work since 2006 with the Host, and more and more people discover what he's done by the day. There were a lot of people who did a crash course on him following his Academy wins, even some of you guys on this forum. Take a chance on Honda, see how good HE was. Don't let this be his stumbling block- embrace him as one of the pioneers of horror, as he deserves to be. Unfairly looked down on in his own time, disregarded by critics and mainstream audiences alike, but beloved by those who got it and those who followed him. Beloved by those who knew him. Maybe Honda isn't a better director- I think that's arguable. Let me show you what I see in him- and what better film to beat Parasite than a sub 380p bootlegged horror movie from the 50s that was banned in its own country that got John Carradine thrown in to appease white people? Name something more horror than that
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Aug 21, 2020 01:31
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That's a lovely post, thank you!
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Aug 21, 2020 04:03
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That was truly a beautiful post. Also, I'm amending my vote. Kong: Yes. Heavenly Creatures: Yes. It's more horror than Destroyer was, and everyone deserves to see it.
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Aug 21, 2020 04:13
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Haha the original trailer for Heavenly Creatures kind of omits a very important part of the whole story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ2yZjnPwQc
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Aug 21, 2020 04:22
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I don't think Heavenly Creatures was exactly horror but of all the "not horror" movies we've watched in this tournament I think its probably the MOST horror of them. If nothing else it crawled under my skin and I still feel sick and unable to process my thoughts nearly an hour later.
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Aug 21, 2020 04:25
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I should mention that the 127 minute cut of Dawn of the Dead is available in beautiful 4k on YouTube for free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYKmM2OimaY
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Aug 21, 2020 04:27
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SUNDAY Megastream, on the CineD Discord  1000 EST The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)* 1130 EST Frankenstein 1250 EST The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) 1435 EST Half Human 1625 EST Parasite 1845 EST The Tingler 2015 EST Dead of Night AKA Deathdream 2155 EST Imprint *Possibly subject to me sleeping in too late and accidentally skipping this, but I hope not. E: times amended because I'm a dummy Debbie Does Dagon fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Aug 21, 2020 |
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Aug 21, 2020 07:00
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Notably Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson drew a lot of inspiration for Heavenly Creatures from Angela Carter's (at the time) unproduced screenplay for a fictionalized take on the same, so that's a little extra horror pedigree. You can read Carter's screenplay in the odds and ends collection of her plays and scripts, The Curious Room.
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Aug 21, 2020 18:48
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Takeshi Miike's Imprint vs. Bob Clark Dead of Night AKA Deathdream vs. William Castle's The Tingler I loved Masters of Horror, own the DVDs, have rewatched the episodes a bunch, but Imprint is probably the one episode of Masters of Horror I’m really not that familiar with. Its the infamous “banned” one that Mick Garris and Showtime felt was too much for subscription cable right before softcore porn. I guess no one ever accused Miike of being softcore. Like a lot of Miike’s work I don’t know how i feel. There’s a decent story in there and some really gorgeous visuals, but there’s also graphic and shocking content that goes beyond the story’s purpose and becomes a purpose of its own. Miike clearly likes to shock and test his audience and I don’t personally care to undergo that test. I’m not offended or anything, but like I got past the phase of my life where I was testing my limits to feel tough awhile ago. And I do sometimes thing Miike’s thing about that stuff takes away from everything else because it starts to feel like more of the focus and point. Still, this is an ok if odd little story that looks great and if you like torture it has an exhausting and memorable scene of it. And it has Billy Drago overacting absurdly. Deathdream is a terrible name for a movie such as this. Dead of Night is an interesting film. Clark was obviously really fascinated with the “mundane” horrors of regular American life. The movie is really powerful early on with the scenes of the family so grief-stricken to get a knock on the door, and the stresses and torture of getting back their son who doesn’t resemble the boy they said goodbye to. The idea of examining the trauma of war and PTSD and the affect that has on families through metaphor of the undead is really interesting and effective all on its own, and Clark is good at conjuring those kinds of dark feelings. But I think the movie doesn’t really come alive or hold together very well. It feels like it meanders in its first act forever and then just kind of sprints into the finish. I like the setup. I like the finale. The visuals and symbolism of Andy crawling back into the grave he made for himself as his mother cries, his sister runs away in terror, and his father takes his own life in agony is loving deep and so full of poo poo to unpack. But the in between was just kind of off to me. HOLY loving poo poo I LOVED THE TINGLER! So loving cool and creative and fun. I’ve heard all this stuff about Castle messing around with audiences and stuff but none of that really translates in other films. But that Frankenstein opening and the lights off stuff are so much fun. And the use of color and stuff is all so creative and cool. And I love the kind of diversion of expectations. You introduce to me Vincent Price with a crazy theory on stuff that can kill you and a vendetta against his wife and I’m thinking “Vince gonna kill his wife” from the word go. But the film does such a great job playing with that and twisting it up and just delighted me so drat much with the directions it went in with the Tingler actually being a real parasite and Ollie pulling the Price play. Man I loving loved that movie. I also really wish I had the kind of extrovert self confidence to make friends with random pathologists with crazy unethical experiments or dudes who own cool old movie theaters. They were buddies in like 3 minutes, man. So yeah… I’m voting Tingler. That might have been one of my favorite first watch films of this whole tournament. FYI, Imprint is on TubiTV, even though Letterboxd doesn't list it. You just have to look for the episode in the Masters of Horror section. Its the last one of S1.
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Aug 22, 2020 10:29
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Hell yea, I also love The Tingler. It's definitely my favorite Castle film and probably top-5 Price for me as well. When I saw it a few years ago it was one of the real standouts of that year's October challenge for me.
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Aug 22, 2020 15:55
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William Castle is so fuckin’ good. He’s got my vote this round.
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Aug 22, 2020 16:34
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Holy balls The Tingler rules. I'd absolutely love to see it in the theatre with the real tingler. edit: Imprint rules too! Oh my god! married but discreet fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Aug 23, 2020 |
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Aug 23, 2020 00:45
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Look, if William Castle won this whole tournament I wouldn’t be mad.
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Aug 23, 2020 02:19
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Deathdream vs The Tingler vs Imprint Deathdream got the best "texture" of the three movies, the 70s film grain and colour are lovely and always a plus for me. With the beginning Vietnam scene it immediately had my full attention and displayed Clark's great command of dark and light. The shadows in that movie are black, and the way people are lit takes full advantage of that. Making a person's face so ghoulish with just some skillful placement of lights, I'm impressed. The story itself is sad and not enjoyable, which is not a criticism of course. This is a good movie but there's something missing to make it fully click for me, STAC Goat mentioned something similar. The Tingler is amazing! This would have been a lot of fun even without the absolutely delightful last act, the story has a lot of twists and turns, there's creative use of colour that in lesser movies would have been the gimmick itself, hey even the Tingler design isn't half bad. But I did not expect the actual gimmick to be this good. Throughout the movie I kept trying to guess when they would activate the tingler in a real theatre, chuckling at all the oh so clever ways they'd sublty encourage the audience to scream by drawing parallels between the movie and real life, but then it turns out no, the movie stops and Vincent price tells the audience to scream now lmao. I can't imagine how fun that would have been in a real theatre with a receptive audience and a real tingler. Loved it! Imprint I did not think would be able to beat The Tingler for me, but I guess I am just an overall sucker for gimmicks. Takashi Miike's gimmick of making really gorgeous, engaging movies that dare the audience to take it seriously, only to slap them in the face with outrageously dumb endings, I love it. The movie is absolutely beautiful, a feast for the eyes, it's extremely graphic, it's Rashomon and Twin Peaks but the ending is coming, I know it's coming whenever I watch his movies, but when it actually happens I still have to laugh out loud. The only potential criticism that I have is that Billy Drago is godawful, his lines are already a crime but the way he says them - I can't make up my mind if it's not actually intentional in the David Lynch sort of way. Regardless, I might have loved this more than The Tingler. married but discreet fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Aug 23, 2020 |
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Aug 23, 2020 14:39
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Brian De Palma's Body Double vs. George Romero's Dawn of the Dead You tell me Body Double is a satire and I believe you. I believe you because its De Palma. I believe you because the main character is just too much of a creepy pervert. I believe you because the story is just too generic and derivative. I believe you because the objectification of women and the comparison of pornography to Hollywood are too overt. So yeah, maybe that was all intentional. Maybe “The Indian” was supposed to be a bad character/angle, Maybe the Right Said Fred scene is supposed to be absurd. Maybe women are supposed to be nothing but lusty body doubles. I’m willing to believe that’s all done by intention because De Palma had a lot of contempt for the industry he was in or analysis of his work or something. But like… the end result is still a bad derivative thriller with a creepy lead and overtly misogynistic themes and absurd scenes. I’ve never really been able to say “no no no, Sucker Punch is SUPPOSED to be a pervert’s fantasy and that makes it not one” or “Starship Troopers is SUPPOSED to be a jingoistic fascist recruiting video.” I’m not disputing the intent, but you still made the thing you hate. I’m not sure that’s an effective style of analysis and critique. At least for me. Dawn of the Dead, what can I say? Truthfully I’ve never loved it as much as others. I chalk that up to my own personal tastes and preference to more contained and focused storytelling. Dawn just kind of happens. But there’s so much within that even if it doesn’t become one of my favorites its a film I can rewatch again and again and pick up new elements I enjoy and appreciate. Its a film basically responsible for so much of the gore and zombie stories we get, and probably directly responsible for 15 seasons of The Walking Dead… for better or worse. And Ken Foree scissor kicks zombies. What more can you really ask for? So Romero takes this one fairly easily for me. I also didn’t really think Body Double was horror, but that’s moot in this case. Even if it was Dawn would have taken this one flat out. I actually thought it was vulnerable and that I might vote against it if De Palma’s work was good enough, especially since I still rather first watch some of De Palma’s other films than rewatch Romero’s stuff I’ve seen plenty of. But once I watched Dawn I realized, nah, I was under appreciating it and then Body Double was… whatever it is.
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Aug 24, 2020 00:40
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James Whale's Frankenstein vs. Stuart Gordon's The Pit and the Pendulum Its Frankenstein. I watched it a few weeks go. I’ve watched it like 4 times during the quarantine. I do plan to rewatch it again because I have Curse of Frankenstein on an episode of Svengoolie on my DVR and it seems just too natural not to do. I’ve just been sleepy today. Maybe I was too sleepy but I couldn’t get into Pit and the Pendulum. There was definitely good elements to it. All Star cast of be actors, very gothic mood. But I felt like it never really knew what the hell it wanted to be. The tone would shift from dark torture to camp comedy to sentimental romance sometimes within the same scene. Like at times it felt like a character from a comedy accidently wandered into the wrong movie and confused the other actor. It was weird. Maybe it was me but I just couldn’t click with it at all Maybe I’m not being totally fair on this one. I wanted to watch with the stream crew to give it more of an audience engagement feel. But again, I’ve been sleepy. But like given how cold I am on the one and how the other one is Frankenstein I think I’m gonna call this one. But maybe I’ll revisit it if I have extra time before Thursday. And if people sell me on giving it another shot.
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Aug 24, 2020 03:36
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I feel like The Pit and the Pendulum is my Half Human. I'm going to have to work myself up to effort post about it.
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Aug 24, 2020 04:28
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Now where in the heck do I watch Body Double?
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Aug 24, 2020 04:33
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Are you available tomorrow at 2000 EST? I could stream it
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Aug 24, 2020 05:29
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Tomorrow as in Tuesday? That'd be lovely!
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Aug 24, 2020 13:35
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I'm definitely giving Half Human a shot tomorrow. But man... Parasite. Wow. It wasn't TOTALLY horror but that last act did a lot to ditch that criteria. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow because I think that's Honda's best shot. Watching it now feels like it has no chance. It needs a clean slate and some palette cleansing if it has any chance in hell. Wow.
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Aug 25, 2020 06:17
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STAC Goat posted:I'm definitely giving Half Human a shot tomorrow. But man... Parasite. Wow. It wasn't TOTALLY horror but that last act did a lot to ditch that criteria. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow because I think that's Honda's best shot. Watching it now feels like it has no chance. It needs a clean slate and some palette cleansing if it has any chance in hell. If you vote for Honda, it will be for Honda. It will not be for Half Human. I love Half Human just fine, but it is not something you can compare between the two. If this was Matango or the original I could make a legit argument and I think I could sway people purely on its own merits. I made my case for Honda. THat's all I can say on the matter.
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Aug 25, 2020 06:23
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STAC Goat posted:I'm definitely giving Half Human a shot tomorrow. But man... Parasite. Wow. It wasn't TOTALLY horror but that last act did a lot to ditch that criteria. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow because I think that's Honda's best shot. Watching it now feels like it has no chance. It needs a clean slate and some palette cleansing if it has any chance in hell. It really was that rare case of a Best Picture winner getting a ton of hype that it actually delivers on 100%. Giving it to any of the other nominees would've been absurd and it was obvious enough that even the Academy stooges couldn't deny it.
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Aug 25, 2020 14:20
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I don't think I liked Parasite that much. I liked it, but it felt like a series of incidents rather than a single coherent narrative. Which you could argue fits into the "no plan" theme, but it just didn't work that well for me. I also don't think it digs deeply enough into the class elements of the story. It's an interesting exploration of class and microaggressions, but I would have appreciated if there was more to chew on, more conflict, more analysis. Half Human did a much better job of establishing conflict with the villagers, and especially the female villager. Her entire story was wonderful, and I think if the film focused on just her I'd be voting Half Human without a shadow of a doubt. Parasite is the more engaging film of course, and is more impressive visually, but I don't think I'm in a hurry to revisit it, unlike Half Human. Perhaps this is just the contrarian inside me gnashing their teeth, but I think Half Human has my vote.
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Aug 25, 2020 15:01
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I'm genuinely disappointed that The Pit & The Pendulum is facing Frankenstein. If I didn't have to consider Frankenstein's legacy--which is impossible, really--I still want to lean towards Pit & Pendulum. It's a creative, fascinating adaptation of Poe's story with an amazing cast of characters. Gothic period pieces are very hit or miss for me, and this one succeeded in sucking me in immediately. I think it's interesting that Stuart Gordon (or maybe it's Dennis Paoli) has such a fascination/fear of older predatory men in places of power victimizing strong, innocent women, which is consistent in Re-animator, From Beyond, and Castle Freak. I'm intrigued that he chose The Pit & The Pendulum, which (from my memory) is about the absurd horror of waking up in the titular torture device, in which to explore this concept completely, while also using it as an allegory for how the Spanish Inquisition did more destruction in the name of faith to the individual, to society's relationship with religious authority, and how The Church has used religion as a vehicle of power for the selfish interests of those placed in a position of power. It heavily reminded me of The Witch-finder General starring Vincent Price, but Gordon's tone manages to make this rather dreadful tale more palatable than the dour depressive bite of The Witch-finder General. Should maybe The Pit & The Pendulum win this? Frankenstein helped create the language of Gothic Horror films, but The Pit & The Pendulum succeeds in having an authentic voice in that genre. Frankenstein is carried by three things: Colin Clive as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as The Monster, and Jack Pierce's make-up design work. But, comparatively speaking, that's competing against a fantastic Lance Henriksen performance, genuinely a career-defining role for him in my opinion, alongside Bishop from Aliens. With Henriksen is Mark Margolis and Jeffrey Combs competing over who can steal the scene? Frances Bay who takes such a small role as imbues it with her otherworldly charm? Oliver Reed as a sweaty Cardinal in a small role that successfully adapts Poe's The Cask of Amontillado in just a few scenes, in the middle of another Poe adaptation? At the center of the film is Rona De Ricci, an actress who really didn't have a career, and yet, the film relies entirely on her performance for it to work. And it does. She is reminiscent of a Jessica Harper or a Karen Allen without the career to match. If we're weighing performances, Frankenstein has two genre-defining performances against six performances that sell this entire movie for me. And, realistically, Colin Clive and Karloff (and Jack Pierce's make-up) are better in The Bride of Frankenstein, which also has tighter editing, better set designs, more heart and more ideas. This isn't Gordon's best film, but it's really good. Especially for a Full Moon Pictures film! And it has an excellent Band score! And Frankenstein isn't Whale's best either! Which sounds like blasphemy, yes; but everything that we consider in our definition of Frankenstein--besides the hauntingly silent introduction of the Monster framed in the stone doorway of the castle--comes from Bride of Frankenstein. It's a tough call, but I think there's a legitimate argument for The Pit & The Pendulum here, friends. edit: Another interesting way to frame this: if I had to pick a small handful of films to showcase Universal Monsters, I'm showing Bride of Frankenstein (alongside Creatures from the Black Lagoon and Invisible Man), not Frankenstein. If I had to pick a handful of films for Poe Adaptations, or Gothic Horror films, or Period Piece horror, The Pit & The Pendulum is getting shown, no doubt. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 15:08
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I don't want to keep editing my post, so I'm adding this one to say Every time I watch a Stuart Gordon film I've never seen, I'm genuinely blown away. With Dagon, Dolls, and The Pit & the Pendulum, the first few minutes spent seeing the film stock, the budget constraints, the Full Moon Pictures logo, I apprehensively say "Oh, you know, maybe this is going to be an underwhelming experience," only for, ten minutes later, the movie to slap me in the face for doubting the project. Gordon always manages to defy his constraints with the pure, creative joy of story-telling. He just gets what makes films--and stories, really--enjoyable. He finds a way to make creative choices with small moments, like Torquemonde jamming his fingers into Mendoza's hand wounds, Esmeralda shooing away a spider from a spider-web that she will press into Maria's head wound, the rats chewing on Antonio's fingers as he's tied up. He also understands his actors, and is willing to move aside to let them work. I read that he and Lance Henriksen had issues working together because Henriksen thought Stuart Gordon's insistence to incorporate humor undermined the terror in his performance. This is a feud that could easily destroy a film's entire chemistry. And it's resolution? Gordon accepting the actor's choice, and working the project towards the energy Henriksen brought to the role. Gordon softened his ego to allow Henriksen's ego to thrive. And that's what makes the movie work! And that's a good director! This is a tournament about the director and their use of horror to convey their ideas and themes they want to explore. And again and again I am impressed with Stuart Gordon's craft and voice in the horror genre. He never let a small budget interfere with the story. He clearly understands the collaboration between director and actor, whether they be big name character actors like Henriksen or no-names like De Ricci. He also has a lot of faith in his cinematographer. The Pit & the Pendulum is an outlier for Gordon's filmography, since it's one of his first films working without Mac Ahlberg, and it still looks excellent, all things considered. It would be a shame for such a great director, who is really one of the best examples of what this tournament is about, to lose to a film based on legacy and not all aspects of directorial efforts. I don't think it's an insult to Whale to lose with Frankenstein, when he clearly grew as a director even a year after, with The Old Dark House. And I say this as a person that watches Frankenstein annually, and have seen it in theaters multiple times. 
Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 15:36
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Franchescanado posted:
Whereas P&TP is carried by two things, and they're attached to Rona Di Ricci's chest. She can't act. Everyone else is dubbed, in some cases from English to heavily accented English. For some reason the scriptwriter decided to steal Agnes Nutter's comedy burning from Good Omens and slap it in the middle of a gothic horror. It's just bad, Frank, sorry.
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Aug 25, 2020 15:42
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Jedit posted:Whereas P&TP is carried by two things, and they're attached to Rona Di Ricci's chest. She can't act. Everyone else is dubbed, in some cases from English to heavily accented English. For some reason the scriptwriter decided to steal Agnes Nutter's comedy burning from Good Omens and slap it in the middle of a gothic horror. It's just bad, Frank, sorry. I'm just gonna say that I stopped reading as soon as you Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Aug 25, 2020 |
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Aug 25, 2020 15:44
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